ITEMS IN AFP WITH KEYWORD:

Counseling

Delivering bad or life-altering news to patients is one of the most difficult tasks physicians encounter. This article offers important tips for imparting such news, keeping in mind patients’ individual preferences for learning about their diagnosis. Several protocols are available to guide physicians in skillful, empathic communication with patients.

The USPSTF recommends counseling young adults, adolescents, children, and parents of young children about minimizing exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for persons aged 6 months to 24 years with fair skin types to reduce their risk of skin cancer.

Individual behavioral counseling conducted by a trained therapist provides some benefit when compared with brief counseling and support; however, this benefit is less pronounced in the context of pharmacotherapy.

The USPSTF recommends that primary care professionals individualize the decision to offer or refer adults without obesity who do not have hypertension, dyslipidemia, abnormal blood glucose levels, or diabetes to behavioral counseling to promote a healthful diet and physical activity.

A patient-centered approach to care is based on three goals: eliciting the patient’s perspective on the illness, understanding the patient’s psychosocial context, and reaching shared treatment goals based on the patient’s values. This article provides an overview of patient-centered communication techniques for physicians.

Learn about resources for counseling women with unwanted, unplanned, or mistimed pregnancies, and find out about the latest evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of medical vs. surgical abortion, and what the physician’s responsibilities are when exercising conscientious refusal.

It is not uncommon for children to have parents who have cancer. Although parents may be understandably apprehensive about discussing a serious illness, children want and need to know what is happening. It is strongly recommended that children be involved and informed in the illness and death of a parent.

Unintentional injury accounts for 40 percent of childhood deaths annually, most commonly from motor vehicle crashes. The proper use of child restraints is the most effective strategy to prevent injury or death. Motor vehicle restraint guidelines have recently been revised to an age-based system that...

Acute stress disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that may occur in patients within four weeks of a traumatic event. Features include anxiety, intense fear or helplessness, dissociative symptoms, reexperiencing the event, and avoidance behaviors. Persons with this disorder are at increased risk of d...